PPB April 2015

THINK

60 •

PPB

• APRIL 2015

FAST FORWARD

THAT’S WHAT WE’VE BEEN SAYING

THINK

RESEARCHERS MARVEL AT THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SENSORY MARKETING

BY TAMA UNDERWOOD

T FEELS SO GOOD TO BE RIGHT, doesn't it?

A surge of new research over the past year has renewed academic interest in the field of sensory marketing.

Much of the research focuses on “embodied cognition,” or the idea that physical sensations subconsciously affect

the decisions we make.

Sensory research and its effect on marketing was presented at the 2014 Association for Consumer Research’s North

American Conference, and the

Journal of Consumer Psychology

published a special issue on the topic.

The findings of these studies suggest we’re entering into an era when more consumer companies will take advantage of

sensory marketing, reports the

Harvard Business Review

Researchers are excited, for example, about discovering that people who had briefly held a warm beverage were more

likely than people who had held a cold one to think that a stranger was friendly.

A separate study found that warm, ambient temperatures prompted people to

conform to a crowd.

Aside from influencing decision-making, a subtle whiff of fragrance or other appeal to the senses also has the capability

to profoundly affect consumers’ moods, attitudes and even memory.

Three scientists learned that adding tea tree oil to pencils increased recipients’ ability to remember the pencils’ brand.

Within two weeks, users of fragrance-free pencils experienced a 73-percent decline in recall, while subjects who

used the scented pencils experienced only an eight-percent decline.

All of this is good news for companies already investing in the sensory design of their products. Auto

manufacturers, for example, rely on sensory marketing tactics, frequently optimizing the feel of a knob, the

sound of a door shutting and, of course, new car smell. In 2014, BMW began piping in the amplified

sound of the car’s engine through the audio speakers in some models as a way to emphasize sportiness.

For manufacturers and marketers not investigating ways to reach consumers through their senses, now

is a good time to start. Insiders say a holistic approach to brand recognition is what will define market

leaders in the future.

SENSORY MARKETING

For further reading,

check out

Customer

Sense: How the 5

Senses Influence

Buying Behavior

Aradhna Krishna.